A lorry crashed on the M62 at around 04:00, spilling its cargo of chickens across the motorway between junctions 11 and 12.
The driver of the lorry escaped injury, but around 1,500 chickens are reported to have been killed in the crash.
Motorists faced long queues as emergency services clear the road of debris from the crash and recapture the chickens that escaped onto both carriageways.